Dr. Frank Ukor (President, AREFFN)
Dr. Frank Ukor (President, AREFFN)
I think government has not made any mistake by giving out the contract of manning the waters and pipelines to a private company. I say so because it takes a thief to catch a thief, a person who has been in that business and has repented now, will be in a better position to cub the menace because they were part of it, and they know the tricks. I agree that government has not done anything bad, but what I will say is that they should not be left alone to execute the contract; other agencies that have to do with security on our waterways have to be on their toes too, our waterways are so large that only one agency cannot protect it and the pipelines. The navy, the NIMASA, the Police and the Customs, all hands must be on deck, let them not say because these people have been given the contract they will leave them alone to do it. Rome was not built in a day; it will take some time before they can man the pipelines effectively, but like I said more hands must be on deck, including Nigerians.
Chris Iyasere (Petroleum marketer)
You cannot completely rule out breach of security, even when there are extreme security measures in place, at a point there could be a lapse in the system, if you remember vividly in the military era where coup plots usually take place, you will discover that even in the presidency these bad guys find their way to the president, it’s as a result of security lapses, so there is no system that does not have its own loopholes, and I think for a long time now we have not heard of this kind of issue, it means that we are developing and I know that with time all these things will be in the past.
Olanife Adeoye (Petroleum Marketer)
In Nigeria, we like to move in circles, some uniform men have just been court marshalled for giving information to the Boko Haram, I believe the same thing happened here, some of these uniform men that were stealing our product, they are the ones encouraging and assisting those stealing our product, both refined and the crude, they are still the ones behind all these explosions, they are assisting the saboteurs. The whole system of this country is so corrupt, the medium of recruiting this people is corrupt, they are the ones policing the nation and yet they are the ones assisting the collaborators to destroy the economy. The federal government will still have to look at the security system, when you look at the US for example, the president and the CIA watch everything that happens through satellites and cameras, there is no system that is perfect, but it is their way of managing their system that is better than our own.
Comrade Peter Ojelatan (MWUN, Water Transport)
I believe more efforts should be put into it, the problem of unemployment in the country is what is causing most of the sea robbery you see here and there, they say an idle hand is the devil's workshop, this act happens not only on the waters, even on the land, youths are graduating every year from the university and there is no job for them, the naval officers, the marine police and others are there, they should be well equipped with the materials to work with. I think they are trying but I think they should put in more efforts because most of these pirates and sea robbers are using sophisticated weapons, but I don't know how sophisticated the ones the navy is using. Apart from this, more naval officer should be employed and equipped with modern gadgets to reduce these illegal activities on our waters.
Olawale George (Seafarer)
So far we have felt their presence on the Lagos waters thus there is security presence on Lagos waters but when you get to the other parts of the nation's waters, their security is porous and I think the government needs for provide more platforms to arrest security challenges in that region, mostly the Niger Delta coast. Again, I want to see a situation whereby core professional seafarers are engaged as well in surveillance operations on our waters because their input matters at sea, so that it will be effective and by the time such persons are put in place; coupled with the platforms at the Niger Delta region then we can say they have improved. Again if the records of attacks on vessels are reduced then we can be justified to say that we are satisfied.
Engineer Isaac Isunamu (AMERO President)
I am not satisfied with the policing the nation's waters and pipelines because with what is happening, illegal activities still go on at sea. The navy would have been much more active but the way they have concessioned it to a private security outfit, the crooks are not really afraid of their presence at sea. It is difficult for the private security to address attack at sea talk less of protecting pipeline. It is better to get the navy involved because they will surely check it. And as far as I am concerned, the platform is a failure because it is not properly coordinated; one security force cannot handle the problem of our waters, so there is the need to get a joint force in place, then with that the criminals will be afraid to strike at sea.
Barrister Osuala Nwagbara (Maritime Lawyer)
I would say that they have been a positive change since the PPP arrangement was put in place to checkmate the undesirable element at sea by providing security in general. For the first time we have seen persons been arrested and been charge to court, we have seen persons arrested and sent to the SSS and other security agencies for thorough investigation and all these have happened in the last one and half years when the domain was concessioned to a private firm and I think it is a remarkable improvement. I think some level of sanity has been achieved in policing Nigerian waters since they came on board but one will always expect them to do more because criminals at sea get more sophisticated by the day and we expect that government will react by acquiring more platforms to combat criminal activities on our waters. But generally the government is doing well and there is still need for improvement.
Julius Efokpor (Merchant Navy)
The mandate of NIMASA does not seek to cover security; its core mandate is safety at sea. Away from safety of the trade, protection of pipelines and vandals, for me is usurpation of the functions of the navy by NIMASA. But it’s still alright because the navy is not doing enough and that is why they decided to take on that function, but in doing so ,they are trying to relinquish their functions to the background and also the contract of Global West Vessel Specialist for me is a welcome development but the purpose of the contract is yet to be achieved. So for me, I think the company is working towards the mandate but it is yet to achieve that mandate.
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